At the Satellite conference 2026 heads of leading satellite operators (SES, Intelsat, Viasat ta Eutelsat) agreed: modern geopolitics has turned the space sector into a "minefield", where every new opportunity comes with a serious risk.
- Opportunities: "Golden age" of government orders
Defense budgets: Military conflicts (in particular in Ukraine and the Middle East) forced NATO and allied governments to dramatically increase spending on satellite communications and intelligence.
Sovereign constellations: Countries no longer want to depend on American Starlink. This creates a huge demand for the construction of national and regional satellite networks (example, European IRIS²).
Multi-orbitality: Demand for sustainable networks, which combine low (LEO) and geostationary (GEO) orbit, become mainstream.
- "Headache": Risks and limitations
Militarization of orbit: Space has officially become the domain of hostilities. Operators are forced to invest millions in cyber defense and maneuvering systems, to avoid threats from the Russian Federation and China.
Market fragmentation: The geopolitical division of the world into "Western" and "Chinese-Russian" blocs complicates the work of global players. It is now difficult to sell services simultaneously in all regions due to sanctions and national security requirements.
Regulatory chaos: Governments are tightening controls on technology exports. They, which used to be a "commercial product", now often classified as "dual-use technology".
- The Starlink and Consolidation Problem
CEOs of traditional companies openly discuss the "SpaceX effect". On the one hand, it drives innovation, on the other hand, it creates a risk of monopoly by one player, which scares government customers, which seek to diversify suppliers.
Result: For CEOs of satellite companies 2026 a year has become time, when diplomatic skills and intelligence understanding became just as important, as well as technical characteristics of satellites.
Source: https://spacenews.com